Gov. Phil Bryant appeared with BancorpSouth executives to laud the move Thursday. Officials spoke at the headquarters of C Spire Wireless, citing the eight-story office building as an example of a project that cooperation between BancorpSouth and a state program made possible.

The fund underscores bank' efforts to step up lending as their coffers swell with deposits. More loans would help restore bank profitability to pre-recession levels.

Bank loans fell sharply during the recession and officials with Tupelo-based BancorpSouth said some would-be borrowers still think banks aren't lending.

The move echoes a $1 billion pool Regions Financial Corp. announced for Alabama businesses in February.